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Svartgars
Svartgars, also known as Dark Dwarves, are a subrace of Dwarves. Physical description *'Average height:' 140-160 cm for both males and females. *'Average weight:' 60-79 kg for both males and females. *'Hair colour:' Dark brown and black. *'Eye colour:' Most commonly brown, then hazel, then green, rarely other human colors. *'Skin colour:' Swarthy to light brown. *'Average lifespan:' Up to 200 years, reach physical maturity at 20-30 years. As other dwarves, Svartgars are short when compared to humans, but taller than goblins, halflings and gnomes. They have a very stout constitution, sometimes described as a "barrel-like" or "treestump-like" appearance (none of which are considered as insults, by the way), though Svartgars have this trait a little less pronounced. They have big hands and strong arms, short legs with powerful feet and a wide torso. The face of Svartgars might look somewhat crudely carved, with prominent brow ridges, big noses and noticeable cheekbones, wide jaws, somewhat angled forehead, etc. Like other dwarves, Svartgars have thick facial hair, including eyebrows, that does not go gray (along with their hair) until at the very least their second century, usually even later. Female dwarves do not have beards and moustaches, but they can have sideburns of various length and thickness, though usually not very pronounced. Svartgars are the tallest among the dwarves, but they are not the heaviest ones. Their skin is darker than that of other dwarves, who are usually noticeably pale. Svartgars' hair is most commonly curly, or at least wavy. Distribution The most of the population of Svartgars is located to the south of the Empire of Eberia, but some do live in it, especially in the southern lands. Culture Settlements Tend to settle in dry plains, using their architectural and magical abilities to irrigate the land and build great cities of stone. Sometimes do settle near the foots of the mountains as well. The cities, unless very young, are almost always big, since Svartgars do not live in villages and hamlets, relying mostly on trade for farming and such. This means that, unlike most other races, almost of their population is settled at points located far from one another. The cities of Svartgars are built in very clear patterns, unique to each city, but usually it comes down to very straight or circled streets with buildings of the same general design and construction. Even common living quarters could be decorated by granite, marble or other rare materials brought from quarries that could be located as far as hundreds of kilometers away from the site. Each and every building is made for Svartgars and Svartgars only, so humans and other races taller than dwarves can have difficulties getting inside and being there. Even though the buildings and streets are made of stone, a lot of Svartgar cities have a lot of green: the roofs and balconies of the buildings are made into very orderly gardens and even plantations, watered by complex irrigation systems. Sometimes even the gardens are multi-layered, supported by great pillars but not surrounded by walls. Languages Simplan, Dwarven. Diet Usually, Svartgar diet is not restricted and they enjoy all the same kinds of food humans do. A lot of it comes from trading, but some is grown around the cities and even on top of them. As usual for dwarves, Svartgars prefer having a lot of meat in their diet, even the kinds of dishes that commonly don't have it, like salads, soups, etc., do have it when dwarves make them. The beverages are often imported too, which is especially true for Nanow, when it can be found in the vicinity. However, small quantities of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages are made by individual dwarves and sold. Industry, art and clothing Almost every Svartgar knows at least something about architecture, masonry, stonecutting, building, etc., if not from direct experience or their education, then from others. This due to the fact that their cities are built in a way unlike most other races do it. Instead of constructing it building-by-building, they construct entire rows or circles of buildings at once. This obviously requires combined workforce from most of the able community, but, on the other hand, it happens only once a decade or so and, due to the legendary abilities of Svartgars, lasts just a few months, a year, at most. Even so, before this, the production and import sectors increase their workload to create supplies for this time period. Svartgars' affinity with magic also means that enchanting and alchemy are big industries, with a lot of items produced in quantities so big that they are exported. As with other dwarves, the industries of metallurgy, iron- and steel-forging, jewelry-making and gem-working are also important, though less so than usual. Despite the very planned way of city-construction, Svartgars do employ a lot of works of art to decorate it, from statues of various people and creatures to mosaics and wall-paintings depicting all matters of things. They also do enjoy music, both public concerts and private musical accompaniment, usually with string and percussion instruments, often enchanted with magic. Svartgars wear colourful clothing, light, yet covering most of the body, reflecting the hot and dry environments they usually live in. Even the armor they wear is usually light, which, of course, makes sense since they do combat their opponents with magic rather than weapons. Jewelry is very common among both men and women, and, generally, the more jewelry someone wears and the more intricate it is, the higher they are in the society. Gender roles, marriage, birth, death and community As with other dwarves, due to surprising physical similarities between dwarven males and females, there is very little division between them in terms of labor. However, typically only men are expected to work as guards, go to wars and perform other activities specifically related to combat. Females are not prohibited directly, but it is considered somewhat abnormal, not because they are considered weak, but simply because it contradicts the traditions. In the same vein, the rite of passage, "Bahdrich", is not required to go through for females. Males who can not finish it, however, are looked upon with shame, so much so that most of them leave their cities forever. The rite itself requires a performance of a spell requested by the elders, and because of the natural magical affinity possessed by Svartgars it is usually not a very hard task for most of them. Marriage is typical to other dwarves, which is akin to human marriage, but with a significant difference: rich and powerful Svartgars often enter a polygamous marriage. Both men and women can do this, and their several partners of opposite gender are usually of lower rank, except the "prime" partner. If a male dwarf fathers several children from different wives, or the other way around, the oldest one is still the first in line, no matter who his or her mother or father was. Interestingly, the ceremony of marriage is usually combined with the celebration of childbirth, since is considered to be a requirement to marry someone who you had a child with, usually in around less than a month after giving birth. The event is widely celebrated, often even complete strangers are welcome to the party that can last for more than a day. The rituals surrounding the death of a Svartgar can be very different depending on their wealth. The wealthiest ones have big mourning ceremonies, even with people specifically hired as mourners, music and remembrance feasts, their bodies are preserved with magic, alchemy and some complex procedures as dried husks and are placed into the specifically built crypts under the cities or outside of them. The average people are buried outside the cities after a farewell from their relatives and acquintances, and the ones that have no-one to care for them are burnt by the government men. Since each city is usually big enough, it has its own complex government structure, most often with a single ruler, the Lord-Governor, a hereditary title, and a council of 10-100 elders, elected officials, as the top-ranking powers. The Elder Council is a legislative organ with Lord-Governor accepting or refusing laws provided by them. Besides that, the structure may vary between the cities, though usually they have a structure similar to human ones in most respects. Despite the fact that the cities of Svartgars are not built to accommodate other races, they are not isolationist and welcome traders, diplomats and travellers, since it is a common belief among them that only through communication can they truly strive. Traditional laws The laws of a Svartgar city are unique to each of them, but they have a lot in common and are generally similar to human ones. They typically do not enact severe punishments, relying on excommunication from the city instead with a tattoo or a burnt mark indicating the criminal as such. The exceptions are made only for truly heinous acts or for those who are considered to be too dangerous. The decision ultimately relies on the judge or judges. The use of magic is regulated in Svartgar cities, which can be especially noticeable for outsiders. Failure to comply with the rules, that can be somewhat obscure and are, again, unique for each city, can result in a fine or even a prison sentence, and that's even only when there was no direct harm done. That is why the common advice for those travelling through the Svartgar cities or staying in them is to not use magic whatsoever, at least not until one can ask the official for confirmation. Those who are sentenced to prison usually only nominally live there. All able-bodied prisoners are locked into enchanted shackles that make them into obedient workers, but do not suppress the internal thoughts, and are sent to perform menial tasks, such as mining, sweeping and repairing the streets, taking care of plants, etc. It is considered that such a punishment still allows the introspective redemption, while the prisoners do not waste the resources of the city. Traditional beliefs To be described later. Relationships with other cultures As was mentioned before, Svartgars are open to traders, diplomats and travelers. They have no special preferences or prejudices, other than some common stereotypes. Since they commonly build their cities on flat, dry plains not very desirable for other races, even the territorial conflicts are very rare. Reasons for adventuring Svartgars are mostly sedentary people, culturally speaking, since they dedicate most of their lives to their communities, so it is rare that a typical Svartgar would go adventuring. However, there are a few of those who might have no choice, such as those who failed their Bahdrich and the excommunicated criminals. Since the latter can be a result of a tragically failed spell judged as an intentional act, the reasons for both might be some sort of a failure to live up to their magical heritage. Of course, every rule has its exceptions, and some Svartgars do indeed leave their cities looking for wrongs to right, monsters to kill and treasures to find. These are usually young people, who might return after their feel of the outside world, but they might never come back just as well. Stereotypical traits As other dwarves, Svartgars are considered hardy and strong, though less so than their cousins. Their magical abilities are well-known, and while they are, apparently, quite natural for the overwhelming majority of them, they do study the spells carefully, not just relying on their instincts. Their characters are commonly thought of as somewhat down-to-earth and uncreative, which is not without some grain of truth to it, though it doesn't mean that they can't be clever, cunning, or artistic -- some, indeed, are. Even their art, however, is quite often methodical or straightforward in nature. The amount of work Svartgars put into maintaining their hair and facial hair is quite astonishing. One of the most respected professions amongst them for this reason is a barber. They braid their hair and beards, often using jewelry as part of the style, and the more elaborate it is, the higher the position of a given dwarf in the society typically is. Makeup is also considered a necessity for those who can afford it and is considered a part of the appearance, since it serves to emphasize facial features, such as the eye contour with an eyeliner, etc. Svartgars are also known for their well-documented innate abilities to determine the directions, angles, distances and even time with a surprising amount of precision, so much so, that they rarely use any tools that are supposed to help them with that. It is thought that this is one of the reasons why they make such good builders.